First Thursdays festivals showcase the diversity of arts and humanities at IU Bloomington and offer a welcoming environment for students, faculty, staff, and community members to explore new creative outlets. Previous festivals have included everything from opera to breakdancing, stage-fighting to clay-throwing, and much, much more. Each festival is a unique opportunity to experience the wonderful work of artists, performers, and scholars from all across campus and around town.
April Performances and Programs
Main Stage
4pm - Singing Hoosiers
4:40pm - USA Int'l Harp Competition
5:20pm - Legally Blonde Preview
6pm - Iron Bear Singers
6:25pm - The Hoofer Ensemble
6:40pm - IU Dance Capstone Preview
Second Stage
4-5:30pm - Interactive Dance Powwow Workshop w/Iron Bear Singers
5:45pm - IU Writers' Conference Student Reading
6:30pm - The Bazargan Book Club
Extended Hours + Post-Festival Events
Eskenazi Museum of Art- Open until 7pm
- Artmaking, Self-Guided Exploration, Pop-Up Converations, and more
- ArtShop @ Eskenazi School - open until 7pm
- Grunwald Gallery - open until 7pm
- Tangent Art Gallery - open until 7pm
- Open until 7pm
- A Kurt Vonnegut collection pop-up highlighting the Library's Cat's Cradle archives
- The Big Picture: Great Moments in Document(ed) History
- Thursday, April 3 @ 7pm - Blade Runner 2049
- Friday, April 4 @ 7pm - Ghost in the Shell (Granfalloon Film Series)
April Partner Booths
- ACT Humanities
- African American Arts Institute
- Alpha Chi Sigma
- ArchIvory Project
- Art Remains
- Asian Culture Center
- Babel Theater Project
- Black Film Center & Archive
- Bloomington Delta Music Club
- The Book Lab
- Bookmarked
- Buskirk-Chumley Theater
- Center of Excellence for Women & Technology
- CIEE
- City of Bloomington (Sustainability)
- Constellation Stage & Screen
- Cosmic Songwriter
- Dept. of English
- Dept. of French & Italian
- Dept. of Information & Library Science
- Dept. of Philosophy
- Dept. of Slavic and East European Studies
- Dept. of Spanish & Portuguese
- Dept. of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
- Dhar India Studies
- Eclipse Productions Company
- Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
- Comprehensive Design, Fibers
- HHart
- Hoosier Asian American Power
- First-Generation and Limited/Low Income Programs
- First Nations Educational and Cultural Center
- First Year Experience Programs
- Germanic Studies (Historical Syntax Project)
- Gift of Life
- Indiana Geological and Water Survey
- Indiana Review
- Integrated Program in the Environment
- IU Arts Administration Programs
- IU Auditorium
- IU Cinema
- IU CommUNITY Education Program (CUE)
- IU Corps
- IU Creates – IU Innovates
- IU Education Abroad
- IU Global
- IU Language Workshop
- IU Libraries
- Craig Fellow, Sciences Library, Education Library
- IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
- IU Painting Guild
- IU Peer Coach Program
- IU School of Nursing
- IU School of Public Health
- IU Student Alumni Association
- IU Theatre + Dance
- IU Writers’ Conference
- Jacobs School of Music
- La Casa
- Lotus Education & Arts Foundation
- Luddy School Makerspaces
- Media School Game Design
- Medieval Studies Institute
- Monroe County Public Library
- Morgenstern’s Books
- Music Industry Creatives
- Office of Int'l Services
- People and Animal Learning Services
- Political and Civic Engagement (PACE)
- Rewild IU
- U Bring Change 2 Mind
- UITS
- University Collections at McCalla
- USA Int’l Harp Competition
- Visit Bloomington
- WFHB
- WFIU-WTIU
- WIUX
- Writers Guild at Bloomington
- WonderLab Science Museum
- Wylie House Museum
Artist Opportunities!
Show off your creations!
Are you a student or community artist looking for a free opportunity to sell your artwork? At First Thursdays, we provide a space to help artists reach new audiences with our indoor and outdoor artist markets. These markets serve as a learning experience for students and help artists make connections with others in the Bloomington community. Our Spring 2025 semester markets are currently full, but if you would like to be contacted about future opportunities, please contact Bethany Habegger, bhabegge@iu.edu.
Volunteer Opportunities!
Be a First Thursdays Hero!
The First Thursdays festivals wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of a small army of student volunteers. Our volunteers are an eclectic group from different academic majors and backgrounds, but they share a common passion for the arts and humanities and a desire to share the transformative power of creativity with our community. For their service, volunteers receive a free First Thursdays t-shirt, a voucher for free food from the First Thursdays food trucks, and the undying gratitude of the Arts & Humanities Council.
Questions about the fest? Email gpanneko@iu.edu